Communication networks implement retransmission mechanisms with either a fixed delay (where all the successfully received packets are stored and forwarded after a predetermined delay) or a minimal delay (where the successfully received packets are forwarded as soon as possible). Implementing the retransmission mechanisms with either a fixed delay or a minimal delay simplifies the network switches, and thus has been the preferred solution so far. However, these simplified network switches cannot simultaneously provide optimal services for both data types that require fixed delay (such as uncompressed video data) and data types that are more suitable for minimal delay (such as USB data). Therefore, there is a need for a new type of communication network that supports both fixed delay retransmissions and minimal delay retransmissions.